Flow Control For Multi-Hop Networks

ABSTRACT

Solutions are provided that allow a network device to apply flow control on the MAC layer while taking into account the priority of the frame of traffic. This may be accomplished by generating a frame indicating that traffic flow should be paused, while utilizing a new opcode value, or alternatively by utilizing a new type/length value (possibly combined with a new opcode value). A receiving device may then examine the fields of the frame to determine whether it should use priority-based pausing, and then examine other fields to determine which priority-levels to pause and for how long. This allows for improved efficiency in flow control at the MAC layer. Additionally, the tagged pause frames can be forwarded over multiple hops on Local Area Networks across a Metropolitan Area Network or Wide Area Network.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/791,828, entitled “Flow Control for Multi-Hop Networks,” filed onJun. 1, 2010, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application No.10/702,387, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,761,589, entitled “Flow Control forMulti-Hop Networks,” issued on Jul. 10, 2010, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/693,037, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,639,608, entitled “Priority Aware MAC Flow Control,”issued on Dec. 29, 2009.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of switching in a computernetwork. More particularly, the present invention relates to the taggingof frames indicating that traffic should be paused with a tagidentifying a corresponding VLAN to provide flow control in a multi-hopnetwork.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A switch is a device that provides a switching function (i.e.,determines a physical path) in a data communications network. Switchingmay often involve transferring information, such as digital data packetsor frames, among entities of the network. Switching is accomplished byexamining data on one or more of the network layers. One such type ofswitching is media access control (MAC) address-based switching, whichinvolves switching in the data link layer. The data link layer is alsocommonly referred to as layer 2 of the OSI Reference Model.Specifically, switching may occur through Ethernet and/or GigabitEthernet on full duplex ports for layer 2 networks.

During switching, there is often a need for flow control of packets, incase of network outages or if a network device does not have enoughresources to handle the received traffic. In a full duplex network, areceiver can signal to the transmitter to stop sending the traffic if itdoes not have enough resources to handle the traffic. The IEEE 802.3xSpecification (now part of 802.3, Annex 31B), uses PAUSE frames for adevice to signal another device. The specialized MAC control PAUSEframes according to IEEE 802.3x are depicted in FIG. 1. Each frame 100comprises a destination address 102 (6 bytes), a source address 104 (6bytes), a type/length field 106 (2 bytes), an opcode 108 (2 bytes), apause time field (2 bytes) 110 and 42 bytes of reserved empty space 112.When a frame is transmitted, it is preceded by a 7 byte preamble and 1byte Start-Frame-Delimiter, and then followed by a 4 byte frame checksequence.

The PAUSE frame causes any device receiving it to stop forwardingtraffic to the requested device for the specified period of time. Thehope is that when that period of time is up, the device has resourcesavailable for the traffic.

This flow control mechanism, however, does not discriminate among theincoming frames - it applies to all incoming frames to a device. Incertain systems, however, frames may be prioritized. For example, voicedata may have a high priority level as it is extremely time sensitive,whereas text data may have a low priority level. Furthermore, certainsubscriber's traffic may be afforded higher priority than others. Theprior art flow control mechanism, however, violates these priorities bysimply ceasing all incoming transmissions. This can even defeat thepurpose of flow control in the first place, by deteriorating networkthroughput, causing more transmissions, and a compounding of theproblem.

What is needed is a mechanism wherein the MAC can take the action of theflow control and apply it in a way that takes into account the priorityof the frames.

Furthermore, currently PAUSE frames are sent out as untagged and onlyhave significance on a single link. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating atypical system utilizing PAUSE frames. Here, the device that transmitsthe PAUSE frame 200 wishes to cause another device 202 to hold off ontransmitting frames for a time. The other device 202 processes the PAUSEframe it receives but does nothing further with the frame itself.

However, in the metro Ethernet environment, clients and servers may notbe directly connected, but rather connected over several hops. FIG. 3 isa diagram illustrating a typical metro Ethernet environment. Thetransmitting device 300 in a first VLAN is separated from the receivingdevice 302, also in the first VLAN, by several hops 304-314, which aretypically switches or hubs. Currently, the point-to-point nature of thePAUSE mechanism prevents the receiving device 302 from receiving thePAUSE frame, because the first hop 304 processes the frame withoutforwarding it. What is needed is a mechanism to extend the PAUSE framesolution to Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) across multiple hops.What is also needed is a mechanism that would allow the traffic flow ina specific VLAN to be paused, without pausing traffic flow in otherVLANs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Solutions are provided that allow a network device to apply flow controlon the MAC layer while taking into account the priority of the frame oftraffic. This may be accomplished by generating a frame indicating thattraffic flow should be paused, while utilizing a new opcode value, oralternatively by utilizing a new type/length value (possibly combinedwith a new opcode value). A receiving device may then examine the fieldsof the frame to determine whether it should it should use priority-basedpausing, and then examine other fields to determine whichpriority-levels to pause and for how long. This allows for improvedefficiency in flow control at the MAC layer. Additionally, the taggedpause frames can be forwarded over multiple hops on Local Area Networksacross a Metropolitan Area Network or Wide Area Network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of thepresent invention and, together with the detailed description, serve toexplain the principles and implementations of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating MAC control PAUSE frames according toIEEE 802.3x.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a typical system utilizing PAUSEframes.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a typical metro Ethernet environment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a PAUSE frame format in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example PAUSE frame in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a VLAN tagged PAUSE frame protocol inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a VLAN tagged priority-based PAUSEframe protocol in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for generating a frameindicating that traffic flow should be paused to a network device, thetraffic flow having varying priority levels, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for generating a frameindicating that traffic flow should be paused to a network device, thetraffic flow having varying priority levels, in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for handling a frame ina network with traffic flow having varying priority levels, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for handling a frame ina network with traffic flow having varying priority levels, inaccordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for generating aframe indicating that traffic flow should be paused to a network device,the traffic flow having varying priority levels, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for generating aframe indicating that traffic flow should be paused to a network device,the traffic flow having varying priority levels, in accordance withanother embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for handling aframe in a network with traffic flow having varying priority levels, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for handling aframe in a network with traffic flow having varying priority levels, inaccordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention are described herein in the contextof a system of computers, servers, and software. Those of ordinary skillin the art will realize that the following detailed description of thepresent invention is illustrative only and is not intended to be in anyway limiting. Other embodiments of the present invention will readilysuggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of thisdisclosure. Reference will now be made in detail to implementations ofthe present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Thesame reference indicators will be used throughout the drawings and thefollowing detailed description to refer to the same or like parts.

In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of theimplementations described herein are shown and described. It will, ofcourse, be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be madein order to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliancewith application- and business-related constraints, and that thesespecific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from onedeveloper to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such adevelopment effort might be complex and time-consuming, but wouldnevertheless be a routine undertaking of engineering for those ofordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

In accordance with the present invention, the components, process steps,and/or data structures may be implemented using various types ofoperating systems, computing platforms, computer programs, and/orgeneral purpose machines. In addition, those of ordinary skill in theart will recognize that devices of a less general purpose nature, suchas hardwired devices, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or the like, may alsobe used without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventiveconcepts disclosed herein. Furthermore, the present invention isdescribed in the context of a switch. However, one of ordinary skill inthe art will recognize that the term switch should be read broadly, soas to include any device that directs packets, including a router and agateway.

The present invention provides mechanisms to allow a network device toapply flow control on the MAC layer while taking into account thepriority of the frames of traffic. Furthermore, the present inventionprovides mechanisms to extend such flow control (and flow control ingeneral) to VLANs across a metropolitan area network (MAN) or wide areanetwork (WAN).

Two mechanisms are described herein for applying flow control on a MAClayer for packets having a priority value. One of ordinary skill in theart will recognize that the specifics of these mechanisms are merelyexamples and should not be read as limiting. In one embodiment of thepresent invention, a different opcode value along with a new field maybe utilized in the PAUSE frame in order to indicate how to handle framesof varying priorities. The new field may be termed a priority mask, andmay be used to identify to which priority to apply the PAUSE command.Thus, FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a PAUSE frame format inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Destinationaddress 400, source address 402 and type/length 404 may remain the sameas the typical PAUSE frame. The opcode field 406 may contain a differentvalue.

The new priority mask field 408 may be two bytes long, however the firstbyte may be unused in systems having 8 or fewer possible prioritylevels. In this embodiment, each bit of the second byte may correspondto a different priority level. Therefore, bit 0 might correspond to apriority level of 0, bit 1 to a priority level of 1, etc. The presenceof any bit signals the traffic with the specific priority to be paused.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the pause time field 410 maybe extended to 16 bytes, to allow for each priority level to have adifferent pause time. This may be utilized only when it is desired tohave varying pause times—if it is more desirable in a specific instanceto have a single pause time for all paused traffic, the only pause timefield may be used. The new pause time field allows for 8 2-byte valuesfor pause time. For example, as depicted in FIG. 5, if it is desired forall traffic with priorities of 0, 1, and 2 to be paused, with the pausetime value of traffic with priority 0 being 7, traffic with priority 1being 5, and traffic with priority 2 being 3, then the priority mask 500may be set at 00000111, and the pause time array 502 set at zero foreach of the first 5 2-byte entries, the sixth entry being set at 0x3,the seventh at 0x5, and the eighth at 0x7.

Typically, the PAUSE frame utilizes an opcode value of 1. In anembodiment of the present invention, an opcode value of 2 may indicatethe presence of the priority mask field—thus the receiving device wouldpause traffic with a priority value indicated by the priority mask. Thepausing in this instance would be for a set time for all priorities,thus using only a single value in the pause time field.

An opcode value of 3, then, may indicate the presence of both thepriority mask field and the new pause time field, thus indicating to thereceiving device that it should pause traffic with a priority valueindicated by the priority mask, for time periods as specified in the newpause time field.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a new type/length valuemay be used. This embodiment is beneficial when encountering devicesutilizing older MAC standards, which may not be able to understand thenew opcode values described above. Typically, the value “8808” isutilized in the type/length field to indicate a PAUSE frame. In thisembodiment, the value “8809” may be used, for example, to indicate thatthis is a PAUSE frame that handles priority. The opcode field may thenbe used to indicate whether or not all the traffic priority levelsutilize the same pause time—rather than values of 2 and 3 they may be,for example, 1 and 2. Otherwise, the frame format described in FIG. 5may be utilized in this embodiment as is. Thus, the presence of “8809”in the type/length field along with a value of 1 in the opcode fieldwould indicate the presence of the priority mask field and that thereceiving device should pause traffic with the corresponding priorityvalue(s) for a set, single period of time set in the pause time field.The presence of “8809” in the type/length field along with a value of 2in the opcode field would indicate the presence of the priority maskfield and the new pause time field, thus indicating to the receivingdevice that it should pause traffic with a priority value indicated bythe priority mask, for time periods as specified in the new pause timefield.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the PAUSE frames may betagged in order for them to exchange PAUSE information end-to-end overmultiple hops across different networks. For simplicity, this may bereferred to as VLAN tagging. The VLAN tag may be generated based on astored configuration. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a VLAN taggedPAUSE frame protocol in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. This tag may involve appending a new type/length field 600 tothe pause frame indicating it is tagged, as well as a VLANidentification 602 identifying the VLAN in which traffic needs to bepaused. This embodiment works with typical PAUSE frames.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, VLAN tagging may becombined with one of the new PAUSE frame mechanisms. FIG. 7 is a diagramillustrating a VLAN tagged priority-based PAUSE frame protocol inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen,the new type/length and VLAN ID fields described in FIG. 6 are combinedwith the priority-based PAUSE frame protocol described in FIG. 4.

One potential concern with VLAN tagging is that a hop may not be able tointerpret the new type/length and VLAN ID fields. In order to preventsuch occurrences, the destination address may be modified to a uniqueunused value. For example, rather than 01-80-c2-00-00-01, it may be setto 01-80-c2-00-00-03. This prevents problems that could occur with olderswitches.

Certain ports from certain switches may be configured to be tagged.Therefore, outgoing PAUSE frames on these ports may contain the VLANtagging described above. Upon receipt of a VLAN tagged PAUSE packet, aswitch or hub will simply forward it like an ordinary packet. The lasthop, however, may be configured with an untagged port to the receivingdevice. It may strip the tag, and forward it to one or more of theseports in the VLAN. This allows the sources for the VLAN traffic toreduce their traffic.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for generating a frameindicating that traffic flow should be paused to a network device, thetraffic flow having varying priority levels, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. At 800, a value signifying that theframe indicates that traffic flow should be paused may be placed in atype/length field in the frame. This may be a value identical to that ofstandard PAUSE frames, for example. At 802, a value signifying thattraffic flow should be paused or not paused according to its prioritylevel may be placed in an opcode field in the frame. This value may alsoindicate whether the pausing will be for time indicated by a pause timefield in the frame without regard for the priority level (if the samepause time for each priority level is desired), or whether the pausingwill be for times corresponding to each priority level indicated by thepause time field (if independent pause times for each priority level aredesired). If the latter, then at 804, a separate value for each possiblepriority level may be placed in the pause time field, the separate valueindicating an independent pause time for each corresponding prioritylevel. The pause time field in that case may be equal in size to thepause time field in a standard PAUSE frame multiplied by the number ofpossible priority levels. These opcode values may be values not used bystandard PAUSE frames in the opcode field. At 806, a priority mask fieldmay be created in the frame. At 808, a value signifying which prioritylevels should be paused may be placed in the priority mask field in theframe.

At 810, a second type/length field may be appended to the frame, thesecond type/length field having a value indicating a tagged frame. At812, a VLAN identification field may be appended to the frame, the VLANidentification containing a value retrieved from a stored configurationindicating a VLAN in which traffic needs to be paused. 810 and 812 maybe performed only in the case where VLAN tagging is warranted.Additionally, at 814, a destination address of the frame may be modifiedto a value unused in the destination address of standard PAUSE frames.This is useful in cases where VLAN tagging is warranted and there issome concern over the compatibility of older switches.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for generating a frameindicating that traffic flow should be paused to a network device, thetraffic flow having varying priority levels, in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention. At 900, a value signifying that theframe indicates that traffic flow should be paused or not pausedaccording to its priority level may be placed in a type/length field inthe frame. This may be a value unused in standard PAUSE frames, forexample. At 902, a value signifying that the pausing will be for a timeindicated by a pause time field in the frame without regard for thepriority level (if the same pause time for each priority level isdesired), or that the pausing will be for times corresponding to eachpriority level indicated by the pause time field (if independent pausetimes for each priority level are desired) may be placed in an opcodefield in the frame. If the latter, then at 904, a separate value foreach possible priority level may be placed in the pause time field, theseparate value indicating an independent pause time for eachcorresponding priority level. The pause time field in that case may beequal in size to the pause time field in a standard PAUSE framemultiplied by the number of possible priority levels. At 906, a prioritymask field may be created in the frame. At 908, a value signifying whichpriority levels should be paused may be placed in the priority maskfield in the frame.

At 910, a second type/length field may be appended to the frame, thesecond type/length field having a value indicating a tagged frame. At912, a VLAN identification field may be appended to the frame, the VLANidentification containing a value retrieved from a stored configurationindicating a VLAN in which traffic needs to be paused. 910 and 912 maybe performed only in the case where VLAN tagging is warranted.Additionally, at 914, a destination address of the frame may be modifiedto a value unused in the destination address of standard PAUSE frames.This is useful in cases where VLAN tagging is warranted and there issome concern over the compatibility of older switches.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for handling a frame ina network with traffic flow having varying priority levels, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. At 1000, a valuein a type/length field in the frame may be examined to determine if itsignifies that the frame indicates that traffic flow should be paused toa network device. If it does, then at 1002, a value in an opcode fieldin the frame may be examined to determine if it signifies that trafficflow should be paused or not paused according to its priority level. Ifthis is also true, then at 1004, traffic flow with priority levelscorresponding to levels signified by a value in a priority mask field inthe frame may be paused. At 1002, the examining of the opcode field mayinclude examining it to determine if it also signifies that the pausingwill be for a time indicated by a pause time field in the frame withoutregard to priority level or whether the pausing will be for timescorresponding to each priority level indicated by the pause time field.If the former, then at 1004, the pausing may include pausing the trafficflow for a time period indicated by the pause time field in the framewithout regard to priority level. If the latter, then at 1004, thepausing may include pausing the traffic flow for time periods indicatedby times corresponding to each priority level in the pause time field.These times may be a separate value for each possible priority levelindicating an independent pause time for each corresponding prioritylevel.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for handling a frame ina network with traffic flow having varying priority levels, inaccordance with another embodiment of the present invention. At 1100, avalue in a type/length field in the frame may be examined to determineif it signifies that the frame indicates that traffic flow should bepaused to a network device and, at 1102, if it signifies that trafficflow should be paused or not paused according to its priority level. Ifboth are true, then at 1104, a value in an opcode field in the frame maybe examined to determine if it signifies that the pausing will be for atime indicated by a pause time field in the frame without regard topriority level or whether the pausing will be for times corresponding toeach priority level indicated by the pause time field. If the former,then at 1106, the traffic flow with priority levels corresponding tolevels signified by a value in a priority mask field in the frame may bepaused for a time period indicated by the pause time field in the framewithout regard to priority level. If the latter, then at 1108, thetraffic flow with priority levels corresponding to levels signified by avalue in a priority mask field in the frame may be paused for timeperiods indicated by times corresponding to each priority level in thepause time field. These times may be a separate value for each possiblepriority level indicating an independent pause time for eachcorresponding priority level.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for generating aframe indicating that traffic flow should be paused to a network device,the traffic flow having varying priority levels, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. A pause traffic flowvalue-to-type/length field placer 1200 may place a value signifying thatthe frame indicates that traffic flow should be paused in a type/lengthfield in the frame. This may be a value identical to that of standardPAUSE frames, for example. A priority level based pause traffic flowvalue-to-opcode field placer 1202 coupled to the pause traffic flowvalue-to-type/length field placer 1200 may place a value signifying thattraffic flow should be paused or not paused according to its prioritylevel in an opcode field in the frame. This value may also indicatewhether the pausing will be for time indicated by a pause time field inthe frame without regard for the priority level (if the same pause timefor each priority level is desired), by using a pause time withoutregard for priority level value-to-opcode field placer 1204, or whetherthe pausing will be for times corresponding to each priority levelindicated by the pause time field (if independent pause times for eachpriority level are desired), by using a pause times corresponding topriority level value-to-opcode field placer 1206. If the latter, then apriority level separate value-to-pause time field placer 1208 coupled tothe priority level based pause traffic flow value-to-opcode field placer1202 may place a separate value for each possible priority level in thepause time field, the separate value indicating an independent pausetime for each corresponding priority level. The pause time field in thatcase may be equal in size to the pause time field in a standard PAUSEframe multiplied by the number of possible priority levels. These opcodevalues may be values not used by standard PAUSE frames in the opcodefield. A priority mask field creator 1210 coupled to the priority levelbased pause traffic flow value-to-opcode field placer 1202 may create apriority mask field in the frame. A paused priority levelvalue-to-priority mask field placer 1212 coupled to the priority maskfield creator 1210 may place a value signifying which priority levelsshould be paused in the priority mask field in the frame.

A second type/length field tagged frame value appender 1214 may append asecond type/length field to the frame, the second type/length fieldhaving a value indicating a tagged frame. A VLAN identification fieldappender 1216 coupled to the second type/length field tagged frame valueappender 1214 may append a VLAN identification field to the frame, theVLAN identification containing a value retrieved from a storedconfiguration indicating a VLAN in which traffic needs to be paused.These may be used only in the case where VLAN tagging is warranted.Additionally, at destination address modifier 1218 coupled to the VLANidentification field appender 1216 may modify a destination address ofthe frame to a value unused in the destination address of standard PAUSEframes. This is useful in cases where VLAN tagging is warranted andthere is some concern over the compatibility of older switches.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for generating aframe indicating that traffic flow should be paused to a network device,the traffic flow having varying priority levels, in accordance withanother embodiment of the present invention. A priority level basedpause traffic flow value-to-type/length field placer 1300 may place avalue signifying that the frame indicates that traffic flow should bepaused or not paused according to its priority level in a type/lengthfield in the frame. This may be a value unused in standard PAUSE frames,for example. A pause time without regard for priority levelvalue-to-opcode field placer 1302 coupled to the priority level basedpause traffic flow value-to-type/length field placer 1300 may place avalue in the opcode field signifying that the pausing will be for a timeindicated by a pause time field in the frame without regard for thepriority level if the same pause time for each priority level isdesired. Alternatively, a pause times corresponding to priority levelvalue-to-opcode field placer 1304 coupled to the priority level basedpause traffic flow value-to-type/length field placer 1300 may place avalue in the opcode field signifying that the pausing will be for timescorresponding to each priority level indicated by the pause time fieldif independent pause times for each priority level are desired. If thelatter, then a priority level separate value-to-pause time field placer1306 coupled to the pause times corresponding to priority levelvalue-to-opcode field placer 1304 may place a separate value for eachpossible priority level in the pause time field, the separate valueindicating an independent pause time for each corresponding prioritylevel. The pause time field in that case may be equal in size to thepause time field in a standard PAUSE frame multiplied by the number ofpossible priority levels. A priority mask field creator 1308 coupled tothe priority level based pause traffic flow value-to-type/length fieldplacer 1300 may create a priority mask field in the frame. A pausedpriority level value-to-priority mask field placer 1310 coupled to thepriority mask field creator 1308 may place a value signifying whichpriority levels should be paused in the priority mask field in theframe.

A second type/length field tagged frame value appender 1312 may append asecond type/length field to the frame, the second type/length fieldhaving a value indicating a tagged frame. A VLAN identification fieldappender 1314 coupled to the second type/length field tagged frame valueappender 1312 may append a VLAN identification field to the frame, theVLAN identification containing a value retrieved from a storedconfiguration indicating a VLAN in which traffic needs to be paused.These may be used only in the case where VLAN tagging is warranted.Additionally, at destination address modifier 1316 coupled to the VLANidentification field appender 1314 may modify a destination address ofthe frame to a value unused in the destination address of standard PAUSEframes. This is useful in cases where VLAN tagging is warranted andthere is some concern over the compatibility of older switches.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for handling aframe in a network with traffic flow having varying priority levels, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. A type/lengthfield value examiner 1400 may examine a value in a type/length field inthe frame to determine if it signifies that the frame indicates thattraffic flow should be paused to a network device. If it does, then anopcode field value examiner 1402 coupled to the type/length field valueexaminer 1400 may examine a value in an opcode field in the frame todetermine if it signifies that traffic flow should be paused or notpaused according to its priority level. If this is also true, then apriority level traffic flow pauser 1404 coupled to the opcode fieldvalue examiner 1402 may pause traffic flow with priority levelscorresponding to levels signified by a value in a priority mask field inthe frame. The examining of the opcode field may include examining it todetermine if it also signifies that the pausing will be for a timeindicated by a pause time field in the frame without regard to prioritylevel or whether the pausing will be for times corresponding to eachpriority level indicated by the pause time field. If the former, thenthe pausing may include pausing the traffic flow for a time periodindicated by the pause time field in the frame without regard topriority level. If the latter, then the pausing may include pausing thetraffic flow for time periods indicated by times corresponding to eachpriority level in the pause time field. These times may be a separatevalue for each possible priority level indicating an independent pausetime for each corresponding priority level.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for handling aframe in a network with traffic flow having varying priority levels, inaccordance with another embodiment of the present invention. Atype/length field value examiner 1500 may examine a value in atype/length field in the frame to determine if it signifies that theframe indicates that traffic flow should be paused to a network deviceand if it signifies that traffic flow should be paused or not pausedaccording to its priority level. If both are true, then a priority leveltraffic flow pauser 1502 coupled to the type/length field value examiner1500 may pause the traffic flow with priority levels corresponding tolevels signified by a value in a priority mask field in the frame.

While embodiments and applications of this invention have been shown anddescribed, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art having thebenefit of this disclosure that many more modifications than mentionedabove are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein.The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spiritof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: at a network device,monitoring traffic into one or more ports of the network device based ona virtual local area network (VLAN) identification field in packets ofthe traffic; and at the network device, if the monitoring indicatesinsufficient resources to handle traffic flow from a first VLAN,creating a frame indicating that traffic flow from the first VLAN shouldbe paused; and modifying a first field of the frame, the first fieldhaving: a value indicating a tagged frame; and a value indicating thefirst VLAN.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising tracking one ormore resources used to forward traffic for the first VLAN.
 3. The methodof claim 1 wherein the monitoring further comprises detectinginsufficient resources caused by the traffic.
 4. The method of claim 3,further comprising: responsive to the detecting, indicating the frameshould be sent.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the indicatingcomprises indicating the frame should be sent by tunneling the frame. 6.The method of claim 1 wherein the value indicating the first VLAN isretrieved from a stored configuration.
 7. The method of claim 1 whereinthe first field comprises: a first sub-field comprising the valueindicating a tagged frame; and a second sub-field comprising the valueindicating the first VLAN.
 8. An apparatus comprising: a memory; logicto: monitor traffic into one or more ports of the apparatus based on avirtual local area network (VLAN) identification field in packets of thetraffic; if the monitoring indicates insufficient resources to handletraffic flow from a first VLAN, create a frame indicating that trafficflow from the first VLAN should be paused; and modify a first field ofthe frame, the first field having: a value indicating a tagged frame;and a value indicating the first VLAN.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein the apparatus is further configured to track one or moreresources used to forward traffic for the first VLAN.
 10. The apparatusof claim 8 wherein the apparatus is further configured to detectinsufficient resources caused by the traffic.
 11. The apparatus of claim10 wherein the apparatus is further configured to, responsive to thedetecting, indicate the frame should be sent.
 12. The apparatus of claim11 wherein the apparatus is further configured to, responsive to thedetecting, indicate the frame should be sent by tunneling the frame. 13.The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the value indicating the first VLAN isretrieved from a stored configuration.
 14. The apparatus of claim 8wherein the first field comprises: a first sub-field comprising thevalue indicating a tagged frame; and a second sub-field comprising thevalue indicating the first VLAN.
 15. A program storage device readableby a computer, embodying a program of instructions executable by thecomputer to perform a method, the method comprising: at a networkdevice, monitoring traffic into a first port of the network device basedon a virtual local area network (VLAN) identification field in packetsof the traffic; and if the monitoring indicates the network devicecannot handle traffic flow from a first VLAN, creating a frameindicating that traffic flow from the first VLAN should be paused; andmodifying a first field to the frame, the first field having: a valueindicating a tagged frame; and a value indicating the first VLAN. 16.One or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) configuredto perform the method recited in claim
 1. 17. The method of claim 1,further comprising modifying a destination address of the frame toindicate a unique value unused in standard PAUSE frames.
 18. The methodof claim 1, wherein the network device comprises a switch.
 19. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the network device comprises a router. 20.The method of claim 1, wherein the network device comprises a gateway.21. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the apparatus is furtherconfigured to modify a destination address of the frame to indicate aunique value unused in standard PAUSE frames.
 22. The apparatus of claim8, wherein the apparatus comprises a switch.
 23. The apparatus of claim8, wherein the apparatus comprises a router.
 24. The apparatus of claim8, wherein the apparatus comprises a gateway.
 25. One or more fieldprogrammable gate arrays (FPGAs) configured to perform the methodrecited in claim 1.